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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566885">More Than You Think: A Markiplier and Crankgameplays story</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>CrankGameplays - Fandom, Unus Annus - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:22:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,205</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23566885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mark has Darkiplier, Sean has Antisepticeye... Ethan just wants in on the fun. But he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. WIP.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapters one and two: intro</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Non romantic.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I’m thinking about making Blank a real character,” said Ethan from where he was on the couch. “Like, not just a one-off anymore.”<br/>
Mark turned from his desk. “It’s… not that easy, Ethan,” he said. “It’s dangerous.”<br/>
“Stop trying to spook me, Mark,” Ethan said, sitting up. “Darkiplier isn’t dangerous. Anti isn’t dangerous. They’re characters.”<br/>
Mark sighed. He couldn’t keep the secret for too long, he supposed. But surely Ethan’s innocence could be spared for a little while longer… he smiled, quickly ad-libbing. “It would be a fun video idea for Unus Annus. Do characters die with their creators?”<br/>
Ethan smiled. Mark was lucky his friend hadn’t taken his meds that morning - Ethan was easily distracted today. “Oh, yeah!” cried Ethan. “That’d be cool.”<br/>
“Right, well, I’ll be right back,” Mark stood, heading out the door. He closed it behind him, practically running down the hallway. He took out his phone, searching his contacts for the right number... God, where was it? The kid… Ethan was in his twenties now, why did he still think of him as a kid? - was catching on, he didn’t have much time...<br/>
He couldn’t let Blank become real, he couldn’t let Ethan be haunted the same way he was… the same way Sean was… finally, the number!<br/>
It picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”<br/>
“Sean? We need to talk. Now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>    “What about?” asked Sean, his thick Irish accent clear through the receiver.<br/>
“Ethan. He wants to turn Blankgameplays - you know, his horror persona? - into a real character. Like we did.”<br/>
“Oh, shit. Really? Well… we knew he was gonna eventually, right?”<br/>
“Sean, he isn’t like us, ok? He’s innocent. He has no idea what he’s getting himself into. Hell, he’s practically a teenager-”<br/>
Sean interrupted him. “He’s 23, not a teen-”<br/>
“Close enough! They start as characters. He’s too young to handle what comes next.”<br/>
“Well, what the hell are we supposed to do, Mark? He’s an adult. He can make his own choices.”<br/>
“But he doesn’t understand the consequences.”<br/>
“Then maybe you should tell him.”<br/>
Mark sighed. Sean wasn’t listening. He never listened. “He knows nothing. Do you know what he knows? Manning the crew for Who Killed. Being on the set for Heist. A few scenes in Date. He knows Dark only a bit more the fans do, and he isn’t exactly good at keeping secrets. If I told him more… told him the truth… the fans would find out. It’d be chaos.”<br/>
“I told you not to make anything past Who Killed. I told you eventually your friends would figure it out-”<br/>
“Now is not the time, Sean.”<br/>
“Well, what the hell are we gonna do? You’re basically his closest friend at this point with all this Unus Annus crap you do together. You’re the only one who can convince him.”<br/>
“I can’t tell him.”<br/>
“Well, no shit there.” Sean quipped.<br/>
“But if I let him make Blank real… God, that’s a powerful character. I don’t want that here.”<br/>
“There’s no guarantee, though.”<br/>
“Yeah, but his fanbase is so excitable, combining that with my fanbase, who have had three years of this…” Mark trailed off, leaving his friend to finish the thought.<br/>
“They’d make it happen.”<br/>
“Listen, Ethan’s probably starting to wonder where I am. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”<br/>
“Okay.”<br/>
Beep. The line hung up, and just like that Mark re-entered the office as though nothing had happened.<br/>
Ethan looked up from his phone. “So. What were you talking to Sean about, exactly?”<br/>
Mark wasn’t surprised - he should’ve been more careful. Ethan was easily bored, which lead to eavesdropping quite often.<br/>
Mark sat on the couch next to his friend. “I suppose I should explain.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 3: Mark Tells The Truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Mark finally tells Ethan everything. But can Ethan really handle knowing the truth?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>THIS IS STILL A NON-ROMANTIC FIC</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Explain? Mark, stop trying to spook me!” Ethan shoved Mark’s arm.<br/>“Don’t touch me.”<br/>“But you should explain.” Ethan’s eyes glimmered with delight - despite Mark being a jerk about scaring him, he was a good storyteller.<br/>“It isn’t a story, Ethan.”<br/>“Fine then. Tell me the truth, or whatever.”<br/>“Blank is a character, right?”<br/>“...yes,” Ethan responded, raising an eyebrow, “he is.”<br/>“Well, he may not stay that way.”<br/>Ethan gave Mark a questioning look. “What?” <br/>“Horror personas feed on attention. It’s their main trait. Right?”<br/>“Yes.”<br/>“Too much of that popularity… and they become real.”<br/>Ethan laughed. “Mark!”<br/>“Ethan, I’m serious.”<br/>Ethan’s smile grew smug. “Yeah, whatever.”<br/>“He comes out sometimes in you.”<br/>“What? No, he doesn’t-”<br/>“The van? Joking about killing me like an absolute sociopath? I could go on.” <br/>This stopped Ethan. His smile fell. “But you’re safe, right? Cuz Dark’s a separate being and… stuff.”<br/>“I made the character and he’s a part of me now. Where do you think the idea for Unus Annus came from?”<br/>Ethan stayed silent for a second, contemplating this. “Shit.”<br/>“There’s a darker side to all of us. I tried to hold off telling you, but your channel keeps growing, and so he keeps growing. This is my fault, Ethan.”<br/>“How the hell is it your fault?”<br/>“I shouldn’t have done a channel collab with someone so young.”<br/>“I’m 23!”<br/>“And I was your idol. And now look where we are-”<br/>“Shut up, Mark. Just… shut up. This isn’t your fault. We’ve just gotta figure out how to fix it. Right?”<br/>Mark sighed. “It’s not that easy. Me and Sean have been working on fixing it for years.”<br/>“Well, maybe you should let me help.”<br/>“What? Hell no! This is between me and Sean, and I can’t let you get hurt.”<br/>“I’m less affected than both of you.” Ethan blurted.<br/>This made Mark hesitate. Ethan was right. Blank wasn’t powerful enough to do any real damage - the fact that Ethan hadn’t even known Blank was there proved that. Dark had quite a bit of influence over Mark at this point - sometimes he couldn’t control him coming out. And that scared Mark. Ethan would cave easily with Darkiplier near, and who would know what could happen next?<br/>"Fine."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. That Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>That night, both boys are trying to sleep. But the hauntings are here...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for the wait!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was ten in the evening when Mark finally got into bed, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be sleeping tonight. The eyeliner was on the nightstand, but he hadn’t put it there. He knew he hadn’t. <br/>           But it was there nonetheless. Which meant Dark was there too. In the back of his mind, hiding and plotting. <br/>           Mark knew he had to fight it. He had to pretend the eyeliner wasn’t there, he couldn’t let Dark take over, he had to keep fighting the urges. It was hard. This is why he hadn’t wanted to tell Ethan. Knowing these things made it so much harder to resist the urges. He was so tempting, this evil side of him that he had created…<br/>           He was here. He wouldn’t go away. Why wouldn’t he go away?</p>
<p>          Ethan lay in bed that night, trying to sleep. But he couldn’t stop thinking about what Mark had said that day. What had he gotten himself into? Some part of him wondered if Mark was lying, making things up for the fun of it.<br/>          But the poster signed a million times said otherwise. That poster had started to haunt him. It had been a joke, but Mark had told him otherwise. <br/>          And maybe Mark was right.</p>
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